This invention relates generally to providing an improved dispensing apparatus and method for donning sanitary disposable or non-disposable gloves, and in particular, donning disposable medical gloves without touching and potentially contaminating the exterior surface of the gloves.
Disposable gloves are used in the medical industry to prevent the transmission of bacteria or other contaminants to users and to others (i.e., patients.). It is typical for these gloves to be dispensed from a common cardboard box similar to those used to dispense disposable facial tissues. In order to don a pair of gloves traditionally, the user typically grabs a glove and pulls it from the box using an ungloved hand. Using one ungloved hand, the user slips the glove onto the other hand, after which the gloved hand is used to grab the second glove from the box and then to don it upon the ungloved hand. Additionally, many users pull out two gloves with their ungloved hands prior to donning, thus potentially contaminating the outer surface of both gloves. Examination of this process shows that the boxed clean gloves become contaminated by the user in the donning process by contact of the user's ungloved hands. As such, it is reasonable to believe that both gloves are likely to become unsanitary. Furthermore, the user then uses these potentially unsanitary gloves to transfer contamination to other surfaces, patients, or other individuals. Another drawback to traditional glove donning technique is the length of time that is required for the process. The standard practice of donning a pair of gloves may take as long as 30 seconds, thus presenting a barrier to efficient medical care. In addition to the previously claimed drawbacks, the traditional box-glove design presents a high probability of material waste as multiple gloves may involuntarily fall out of the box onto the floor thus requiring discarding of such gloves. The gloves in a traditional box-glove remain unorderly in a tight container, thus the opening of the box creates a pathway to potential glove waste and exposure to contaminants from the outside environment. Studies show that unused, non-sterile disposable gloves (NSDG) may actually become contaminated with pathogens during the act of glove retrieval. Contaminated NSDG therefore have the potential to act as transmission vehicles for bacteria as demonstrated by these results. These studies suggest that traditional glove-box design and glove withdrawal techniques should be further examined to decrease the potential for pathogen transfer to unused sanitary gloves. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that bacteria transmission can result from inappropriate donning and withdrawing of medical disposable gloves, as improper hand hygiene results in the direct transfer of contaminants to the sanitary gloves. According to WHO, hand hygiene (e.g., proper hand washing or sanitizing) compliance in the health care setting can be as low as 0%, with compliance levels most frequently recorded below 40%. This statistic is a big contributing factor for hospital acquired infections (HAI's), which according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. hospitals reported that in 2011 there were an estimated 722,000 HAIs in U.S. acute care hospitals, and 75,000 deaths stemming from HAI's. These studies show the urgent need for further improvement of the infection control process.
The prior art reflects various attempts at solutions for dispensing gloves while precluding their contamination by a user. U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,034, to Corbett discloses a device that permits a user to don gloves without touching the exterior of the glove. The device responds to voice command to move the gloves which are attached to filaments in position for donning. Once in position, shears are used to separate the gloves from the filaments. Such a system can be problematic as it relies on the need for extra parts such as shears and filaments, and power to operate, and more importantly presents filaments and shears in proximity to a user's hands which increases the likelihood of injury. Additionally, the use of filaments and shears for handling and dispensing the gloves presents sharp objects on/near the gloves which could damage them during operation of the device.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,533,868, to Bhalla, a sterile glove is disclosed which advantageously presents to a user a glove with the inside portion of the cuff folded over to prevent touching the outside of the glove. Bhalla uses a donning tab and shield attached to the inside surface of the cuff fold to allow a user to grasp a glove for donning. Despite providing initial protection of the outside portion of the glove prior to donning, this design has numerous potential problems. One such problem is that the opening of the glove for slipping in a user's hands can potentially collapse as the donning tab and shield provides little to no supporting structure for a user to handle the glove. Those skilled in the art can appreciate the difficulty of donning tight-fitting latex gloves, for example. Another problem is that once the lower portion of the glove is donned to a user's hand, careful (i.e., time-consuming) attention needs to be employed by a practitioner to prevent contamination of the glove while removing the donning tab and shield. The process of removing the donning tab and shield opens the risk of contamination to the glove as the user must use the other hand to fold the cuff into its normal position on the hand without risk of tearing the glove. Furthermore, the addition of the donning tab and shield adds to the cost of gloves, complicates packaging and makes donning more time consuming.
A method and apparatus for disposable glove dispensing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,960,493, to Dennison et. al. The disclosure discusses a glove dispensing system that may allow a user to efficiently put on a disposable glove without touching the outside of the glove. The device relies on the opening of gussets to allow a user to insert their hands into a disposable glove. As disclosed by Dennison, the gloves must be separated at a tearing joint to create an opening for the hand. Per the disclosure, the gloves hang back-to-back on a dispensing apparatus so it is difficult to conceive opening a first glove on the dispenser without touching the outside surface of the glove. Furthermore, the gloves as contemplated in the '493 patent to Dennison, must be specially made to fit the dispensing apparatus and as such eliminates use of existing disposable gloves.
U.S. Pat. Appl. Publication No. 2016/0362242, to Tao, discloses a disposable glove dispensing system whereby gloves are dispensed cuff-first as a means of reducing contamination risk. As provided in the disclosure, the outer surface of the glove cuffs is presented to a user for donning. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that it is the outside surface of the glove cuff that must be protected from contamination during the donning process. As such, risk of contamination is ever-present since the exposed outer glove cuff may be touched, first, by unsanitary hands. It is also recognized that traditional glove boxes are made of paper/cardboard where studies show the risk of contamination (e.g., bacteria) resulting from moisture build-up in such materials. In addition, typical glove boxes are discarded after gloves are used up, contributing to unnecessary waste.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,898,309, to Fisher describes a device for facilitating the donning of sterile gloves with elastic cuffs. A major drawback to this device is that it is configured for holding only one glove or a pair of gloves at a time. In an environment where multiple gloves must be used by many caregivers at the same time, the device presents time consuming and inefficient to use. Specifically, the device must be prepared (i.e., loaded with a glove or pair of gloves) each time donning is required as donning is not available until a subsequent glove or pair of gloves is first installed onto the device.
Other glove dispensing devices as disclosed in the prior art, such as U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 2007215628, to Tramontina, exhibit similar setbacks of still presenting possible contamination while donning a glove to a user's hand. Tramontina discloses gloves in a box with cuffs folded inside out to allow a user to grab a glove without touching the outside surface of the glove. However, the user must still don the glove without the aid of a support to efficiently position the glove on the hand; this procedure is time consuming and still presents a risk of contamination from accidentally touching the outside surface of the glove while donning. Furthermore, the user, having touched the inside portion of the folded cuff, must still unfold the cuff of the glove to expose the outside portion of the cuff to provide sufficient protection to both the user and person or object later touched. These known methods tend to unnecessarily increase the cost and complexity of use (i.e., donning) and manufacture of the gloves. In addition, no one solution adequately addresses such increases in cost and complexity as it relates to, for example, dispenser infrastructure needs (e.g., electrical power), time savings, and compatibility with existing glove products of different sizes and materials. As such, what is needed is an apparatus and method that permits a user to efficiently don gloves, throughout the entire donning process, without contaminating the outside surface of the glove while also eliminating the aforementioned inadequacies.